Another obscure song! "Min Barndom" - Tommy Korberg

“Min Barndom” is a Swedish version of the Jacques Brel song, “Mon Enfance.” The cover is sung by Swedish crooner Tommy Körberg, whom hardly anyone has ever heard of but is a huge name in Sweden and Denmark. The track is found on his CD, Tolkar, a compilation of Jacques Brel songs performed in Swedish.

I discovered Tommy Körberg (I’ll refrain from using the umlaut now because it’s a pain in the ass to insert each time) on the original concept album of Chess, an ‘80s rock musical by Tim Rice, and Abba’s Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. The musical is glorious, and Korberg is definitely the strongest voice on the recording. He is known for playing the lead of The Russian in virtually all major productions to this date – that’s over 20 years and he’s now about 55 years old! Korberg was also set to play the original Phantom and was one of the first considered to play Jean Valjean.

Korberg’s voice is a rich velvety baritone with a strong upper register. It amazes me that he’s never had any formal training, and yet his technique is perfect, his breath support incredibly strong, and his voice has gotten better with age.

OK, on to the song … now that I’m done raving! J “Min Barndom,” or “Mon Enfance” is about a man remembering his childhood. I wish I could find a full English translation, I only have a paraphrased version. Basically the man longs for the happiness and simplicity of his boyhood – playing cowboys and Indians and teasing girls. He comments on how life is so complicated as a grown man, and how he would like to slip back into his childhood self and have careless fun again. Even though I have NO understanding of Swedish, the song’s meaning is still universal. I think all of us at one point or another have remembered our past and wished that we could return to those days and forget today’s complications. The song had some political undertones then and now – then it spoke out against the Vietnam War, and now it can be adapted to any conflict.

The song only has piano accompaniment by Swedish pianist Stefan Nilsson, yet you could hardy call it accompaniment. The song seems more like a classic art song, with the piano and singer having equal roles in telling the story. The accompaniment is languid and dramatic (reminds me of Liszt) – lots of trills in higher octaves in the beginning. Most of the piano part is divided into ascending arpeggios in the left hand (which sounds like it’s in the treble) and lots of dazzling virtuosic movement in the right hand – trills, turns, improvisations. I don’t know if Brel intended any symbolism when he wrote this, but I interpret the left hand as kind of the stable, reality check – reminding the character of his complicated, adult life. The right hand represents the fantasy of his childhood, which is why it’s more elaborate and playful. The accompaniment is very romantic in style.

The song is mostly in strophic form – there are three verses with little variation except in the piano part. A change in the melody occurs afterwards, kind of a developmental section. I wish I knew the words at this point, because it’s the climactic point in the song and must also be the realization in the poem! Korberg sort of speaks one phrase for added emphasis.

Korberg’s interpretation is very beautiful, one of my favorite songs. Its an interesting departure from Brel’s original version, since Brel liked to sing-speak his songs with his raspy, yet expressive voice. Korberg’s voice is also heavily expressive, yet his wonderful vocal tone takes the song to a whole new level. Needless to say, I love it!